Pakistan has a formidable historical past of manufacturing nice quick bowlers. There was a time when Pakistan had probably the most deadly bowling assault with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar.
Even after the retirement of those greats, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Mohammad Amir helped Pakistan win various matches.
These quick bowlers helped Pakistan win many matches even once they had a fragile batting line, not solely at dwelling however overseas too.
Not solely quick bowlers, Pakistan additionally produced many match successful spinners like Abdul Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Jamal.
After the retirement of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal in 2017, no spinner might cement his place within the nationwide crew. Saeed gained many a Checks for his nation. He was a necessary a part of the crew for all three codecs of the sport for a very long time.
Leg spinner Yasir Shah changed him completely and performed an essential position in Pakistan’s many Check wins however within the present Check squad there is no such thing as a skilled and world class spinner who might be referred to as a match winner.
In the course of the previous few years, many worldwide gamers have left Check cricket to give attention to ODIs and T20 Internationals and T20 leagues internationally as followers are extra within the quickest format of the sport.
And by making ready useless pitches just like the one we noticed in Pindi for the primary Check in opposition to Australia, cricket authorities are doing a disservice to the Check format.
Australia final toured to Pakistan in 1998 when it gained the Check collection 1-0. The historic collection between Pakistan and Australia has been poor because the followers witnessed a boring first Check on a dull observe on the Pindi Cricket Stadium proved {that a} useless pitch means useless recreation and hold away followers from the stadium.
Cricket followers in Pakistan and all around the world had been ready to see contest between the 2 excessive profile groups, however the pitch turned out to be the flattest one which followers internationally have seen in a long time.
Pakistan might have crushed Australia on a standard Rawalpindi wicket however as an alternative of offering alternative to bowlers, the PCB curator disillusioned not solely the gamers however the followers.
In first two Checks, Pakistan spinner Nauman Ali has taken seven wickets at a mean of 35.42. Australia’s skilled spinner Nathan Lyon conceded 142 runs for six wickets.
Pakistan spinner Sajid Khan has taken solely three wickets in two Checks with a excessive common of 106.66.
Australian skipper and quick bowler Pat Cummins and Shaheen Shah Afridi have 4 wickets every with the common of 47.75 and 51 respectively. Mitchelle Starc conceded 187 runs for simply three wickets.
With the primary Check match witnessing each groups scoring a mixed 1,175 runs throughout three innings, the pitch was declared “beneath common” by the ICC.
The ICC’s Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle in an announcement after the Check mentioned that the Rawalpindi pitch didn’t present ample contest between bat and ball and the character of the pitch hardly modified over the course of 5 days.
The pitch didn’t have a substantial amount of tempo and bounce in it for the seamers nor assisted the spinners because the match progressed.
The Pindi Stadium has acquired one demerit level underneath the ICC pitch and outfield monitoring course of after the Check completed in a tame draw. If the Pindi stadium receives 5 demerit factors over a rolling five-year interval, it loses the appropriate to host worldwide cricket for a interval of 12 months and the ICC’s report has been forwarded to the Pakistan Cricket Board.